The British Board of Film Classification says that gamers are less caught up …

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The British Board of Film Classification isn't the first place that gamers expect to find research on video games and the reasons that people play them, but the BBFC has just released such a report as part of its attempt to better understand the attitudes of gamers and those who don't play them. The BBFC's even-handed report also delves into the question of game violence, but always with an eye to understanding rather than judgment. Their findings? Despite some parental fears, gamers consistently understand the distinction between the real-world and an onscreen fantasy, and don't confuse the two.

According to the report, "there is an appeal in being able to be violent without being vulnerable to the consequences which similar actions in real life would create, [and] gamers are aware that they are playing a game and that it is not real life." In fact, most gamers are bothered more by violence depicted in films and on television than in games.

Film continues to create a more compelling illusion of reality than do games; in fact, even the "interactivity" of video games can keep gamers from getting immersed in the same way, since players are continuously reminded that they are controlling the action on-screen. The report also notes that gamers are less involved emotionally in games, in part because games often stress action over character and story development.

The BBFC is not primarily a gaming regulator, but it does deal with games in the UK when they feature "adult" content. To help guide its regulation of these guides, the Board commissioned the survey of gamers, game designers, game reviewers, and parents. Many of the findings were expected: the age of gamers is climbing, men get more involved in gaming than women, and women like "strategic life simulations" while men prefer first-person shooters (or "first 'person shooters'" as the report puts it).

Gamers: Monosyllabic, pasty-faced zombies?

But what's unexpected is the subtlety with which the report looks at the gaming experience. It recognizes, for instance, that violence, "in the sense of eliminating obstacles, is built into the structure of some games and is necessary to progress through the game." And that's not necessarily a bad thing, since gamers almost never feel that the onscreen violence is making them more open to using violence. "I no more feel that I have actually scored a goal than I do that I have actually killed someone," said one participant. "I know it’s not real. The emphasis is on achievement."

The report also points out that violence is one of the key ways that designers keep up tension in a game "because gamers are not just shooting, they are also vulnerable to being shot." And most players focus more on overcoming obstacles than glorying in gore for its own sake.

Parents, though they do have concerns about violence, are often just as concerned with the amount of time that games consume. "They complain that children who play a lot of games become monosyllabic and unsociable, emerging from their rooms pasty-faced and zombie-like after hours of incomprehensible engagement with a fantasy world," says the report.

That's not how gamers usually see their own gaming, of course, but some gamers interviewed for the report did express embarrassment about the amount of time that they spend in virtual worlds. Men, especially, are prone to being "sucked into" titles, playing far more than they intended. The report notes that in interviews, some gamers felt "a bit sheepish, looking back, at the amount of time they have spent playing," and the number of other tasks they did not accomplish because of it.

One caveat, though: the report's statements simply reflect the self-understanding of gamers, professionals, and parents, rather than an outside evaluation. Gamers certainly feel like violence does not affect them, but the report makes no attempt to validate this. It is designed mainly to provide understanding of why gamers enjoy games and why others worry about them, but continued empirical research is necessary to find out what is in fact the case when it comes to desensitization and violent behavior.